


116 Maple Drive, 1997

by derblockhead



Category: Original Work
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Bisexuality, Coming of Age, F/F, F/M, Homosexuality, M/M, Middle School, Multi, Original Character(s), Original Fiction, Other, Parent/Child Incest, Post-Divorce, Puberty, Sibling Incest, Slow Burn, Underage Drug Use, Underage Kissing, Underage Masturbation, Underage Sex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-29
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-15 21:15:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29070900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/derblockhead/pseuds/derblockhead
Summary: A post-divorce, post-move, coming of age story that primarily follows a middle-schooler and her various co-horts as they try to wrap their brains (and bodies) around friendship, fandoms, ukulele practice, music, movies, school, drugs, adults/parents, gender, and sexuality. Something between fantasy and realism, tenderness and passion, voyeurism and exhibitionism. Pure fiction and hopefully as respectful to the characters as they deserve. While there are elements of myself as child as well as tinges of the many characters from my life, these characters are in no way based on real people.*This is a WIP. Chapters will be added whenever possible.
Relationships: Original Female Character/Original Female Character, Original Female Character/Original Male Character, Original Male Character & Original Male Character
Comments: 4
Kudos: 4





	1. The Duplex

**Author's Note:**

> This is a work of fiction and in no way condones, incites, or excuses non-consensual activity involving minors, nor harm to any person. Some components are based upon the personal experiences of the writer while under the age of consent. WARNING: Please review all tags before reading! If those tags contain any subject you are not comfortable reading, please move on.

Katie was curious about their new neighbor. He seemed a bit sad and lonely, and anytime she looked him in the eyes in front of the duplex, he’d quickly look the other way and usually even walk in the other direction or back into his apartment. Her mom Candace told her that some adults, especially adult men, just don’t feel comfortable around kids, so she shouldn’t take it personally. It had been 5 days in the new apartment and she’d seen him only a handful of times, each time the same. “It does feel personal” she’d think, and then she’d wonder why? Maybe the neighbor was a little like her dad. Like him, he was tall, probably the same age or maybe a little younger, slightly out of shape with a thick stomach, a short-cropped beard, freckles, and sandy hair. But there was more than just the way he looked, it was how he looked at her too.

Her dad was never close to her. She felt like he never thought of her much, or if he did, he was usually annoyed by her. It’d already been a year since she last saw him, visited his house upstate, met his new wife, and played with her 2 year old stepsister. She felt invisible that entire time, and the moment she got back home she asked her mom if she had to go back there ever again. She remembered her mom’s words clearly, “Katie, I don’t want to make you feel any which way about your dad, but I’ll only say that I understand. I felt pretty invisible too.” Her mom explained to her that it wasn’t her fault, nor was it about who she was, but that her dad was like that with everyone. Candace easily retained full custody of Katie when she was only 6 years old, meaning there was no requirement for Katie to see her dad at all. This explanation gave her relief and filled her with sadness at the same time. Why couldn’t her dad just be different than he is, couldn’t he just see her and like who she is? It was an incredibly difficult thing for her to wrap her brain around. How can a parent not see value in their own children?

The neighbor, in all his avoidance sort of triggered this feeling in her again. Not being seen, not being liked. It angered her a little to make this connection. It felt silly, and pointless. She had already been down this road, understood that her and her mom were enough, didn’t need anybody else to show her they care for her or even love her. Her mom more than made up for any loss from her dad. All this thinking began to ease her. It felt better to make the connection, and then to just let it go.

* * *

The move had been easy, but it put Katie in a new middle school, and that was decidedly not easy. Each day was an exercise in perseverance in the face of increasing cruelty. Her friends since grade school still group-emailed, refusing to leave out Katie from all the details of their plans and adventures. She was grateful for the connection, but also annoyed by not being able to truly partake. The kids at the new school either ignored her entirely, or flashed her searing looks that made her feel worthless. It was horrible. The pattern was the same every day; wake up, walk to school, go to classes, walk home, practice the ukulele, eat dinner with mom, wash up, finish school work, go to bed. The weekends were only slightly different, allowing for some time for her and her mom to run errands together, stop at her new favorite bookstore, and at the end, have dinner out together.

It was her and her mom’s third Saturday in the new apartment, and they went to a Thai restaurant only blocks away. This was something that could make things better, even if for only a moment. Dinner with her mom was a time to decompress the week, but also to taste delicious things. Food, good food, was something her mom had started introducing to her early, and the effect it had on her was pure joy. The distraction of flavorful foods was enough to put aside any worry, for at least the moment and sometimes even for a day or two after.

This night, this particular Thai food was no exception. She delicately lifted bites of strong, spicy noodles, meats, and vegetables to her mouth, savoring each bite with her eyes closed. Her mom ate in almost the same way. Between bites, Katie and her mom would discuss all sorts of things; school, plans for break, her anxiety about making friends, her mom’s decision not to date again for a while until things settled in. Eventually, Katie brought up her thoughts on the neighbor, and how she thought it seemed connected to her dad. She asked her mom if it was wrong to feel hurt by these things, and her mom replied, “We’re hurt all the time by things that don’t go the way we want them to sweetie. But nobody has to accept the hurt and just drown in it. I know your Dad will never give you anything much but hurt. We’re far enough away from him and all that, I can be honest with you. But what you feel hurt by from this point forward, well, it doesn’t have to keep hurting. You can’t control other people’s thoughts and behaviors, but you can control how you feel about them.”

Candace rested her arms on the table and leaned toward Katie. “Look, if you want, I can talk to the neighbor and ask him directly if he has some kind of issue with my kid.”

“Mom! No! Please don’t do that.”

“Then you should do it. Don’t let your ideas of people you don’t know decide how you’re going to feel. Sometimes you just need to confront someone and ask them what they’re really thinking. It’s easy to decide what people are thinking without ever talking to them, but chances are it’s wrong.”

Katie considered this, ran the scenario through her head, what talking to the neighbor would possibly look and sound like. She could already feel the nervousness of that moment. Speaking to people, especially adults other than her mom was no simple thing. But her mom always had a way of making things a little simpler, a little clearer. She would talk to him. She’d start by asking his name she decided. And instead of asking him if he disliked her, or kids in general, she’d ask about him personally and decide if the response he gave would confirm her worries or not.


	2. The Conversation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Katie deftly addresses the elephant in the duplex.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a work of fiction and in no way condones, incites, or excuses non-consensual activity involving minors, nor harm to any person. Some components are based upon the personal experiences of the writer while under the age of consent. WARNING: Please review all tags before reading! If those tags contain any subject you are not comfortable reading, please move on.

Another horrible day at school. It was a Monday after all, and nobody likes being back at anything after a weekend but especially not school. Her mom spent every Monday night in agreement, but instead about working in an office. Katie found herself thinking about the very Monday-specific things she’d share with her mom that night as she ambled down the sidewalk from school, looking up into the trees. The walk home helped, and the weather was so nice it would be hard for that not to help as well. As she turned the corner to the duplex she saw the neighbor sitting on his porch, sipping a brown colored drink with ice in it and talking on the phone. She slowed down, finding herself trying to eavesdrop before passing directly in front of him. He stared straight out into the street, a concerned look on his face, and spoke into the phone, “I know mom. It’s OK though. I’m doing a lot better. I really appreciate you.” then a pause as the other person spoke, his mom as it would seem. “OK OK! I love you. Thanks.”

As Katie neared the porch the neighbor dropped the phone from his ear into his lap, and stared at it motionless. He looked far sadder than usual. This prompted two thoughts for her, the first being that sad people could always use someone to talk to, and the second that it was probably the best opportunity to engage with him. “Ugh”, she thought as she gingerly stepped up to his porch letting her bookbag scrape to the ground at her feet.

“Hey.” she said weakly.

Looking up to her eyes from the phone and putting on a tight, forced smile, he replied, “Oh, hey. Sorry. Didn’t see you.”

“I wanted to just ask if you are OK. You… you don’t look like you’re OK. I’m sorry. It’s probably not my business.”

His eyes were glassy for a brief moment, and then he spoke, “Yeah. Stuff is hard sometimes. It’s OK though. I’m OK.” sounding like he was trying to convince himself as much as her. He shuffled around in his chair, looking for something, then looked back up at Katie’s eyes.

She seized the moment, “I know how that feels. How hard stuff is. I mean, for kids at least. I know adults have wayyyy harder stuff.” she smiled, imploring him to respond in kind.

And he did. He had a smile that showed how this simple gesture of Katie’s could change something very quickly. As he sat up from his chair, he moved a step closer to Katie and put out his right hand, “I’m Declan by the way. I’m sorry I never introduced myself to you and your...?.”

“Mom”, Katie replied as she shook his hand gently a few times and he let go.

“Yeah, your mom too. Man, yeah, I’m sorry. I’m a sad sack sometimes, and I don’t mean any offense to anybody. It’s cool that y’all moved in, I just sort of keep to myself a lot these days.”

“I’m Katie, and my mom’s name is Candace. It’s OK. I, sort of thought you had a problem with us, or maybe… me. I dunno.”

“Oh! Fuck no! Shit!” he exclaimed as his eyes went wide. “Sorry, I realize I’m cursing. And, you're a kid. That's not cool. Sorry.”

She laughed to herself, but was pretty sure the laugh escaped her smiling mouth by the fact he smiled broadly back at her.

“Look, nobody gives a fuck about cussing.” Katie replied with confidence and a smirk.

She impressed herself, and by his immediate laughter she seemed to impress him as well. She stood there in front of his porch, him leaning into the bannister with one hand casually draped at his side holding his phone, and the other bent in front of him holding the glass of ice and brown liquid. And they conversed for what they both thought was only a few minutes but what ended up being about an hour. She found out more about him than she really cared to. Not that any of it was bad, but, more so that she couldn’t connect to anyone her own age this way and she found it stupid it could be so easy with this older stranger. Why couldn’t she do this at school with other kids? But that thought gave her pause. She wondered, would it even matter to talk to kids her own age? Did she care about what they cared about? 

In the end, she understood enough about Declan to decide he was fine. Mostly, that he was fine with her. He seemed almost cheery now, talking to her about his recent divorce, about how he’d only been living there a month before Katie and her mom moved in, about his job running a small art gallery, and his dreams of owning his own, maybe managing artists someday. None of this was particularly interesting to her, but it was all the other things about the interaction that intrigued her. He was funny, nerdy, cautious, knowledgeable of even her own music, books, and movies. And she was responding to him in ways she only had with her mom. She was funny, confident, she felt intelligent and capable in a way she had been desiring for a long time with someone else, anyone other than her mom. The relief came over her of suddenly understanding exactly what her mom was suggesting. Eventually, they both tired of standing and chatting, and sort of made gestures towards their respective homes. 

“Hey, look, you’re a really cool kid. Again, I’m sorry that I made you or your mom feel unwelcome.”

“It’s alright. Just, don’t be such an asshole and I won’t burn your house down” she shrugged.

He laughed, loudly at that, and replied, “Your house burns down too if that’s the case” and placed two fists together in front of him, “it being a duplex and all. But, agreed. I won’t be an asshole.” 

Just before he entered his open doorway, he looked back at Katie as she stepped onto her porch and paused smiling at her. She felt that look was more telling about the interaction than any words that they just shared. It made her feel slightly uncomfortable, self-conscious, which was jarring after feeling so confident for the last hour. She smirked back and headed into her house without pausing, hearing his door shut a few seconds after hers. She had been holding her breath, she realized, and finally let it out once she got to the kitchen dropping her book bag on the table. Where she had been so at ease before, she now felt this incredible anxiety drop inside her stomach. Her face became flush. Was she going to throw up? What the hell just happened?


	3. The Analysis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Katie analyzes what "that look" even fricking means.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a work of fiction and in no way condones, incites, or excuses non-consensual activity involving minors, nor harm to any person. Some components are based upon the personal experiences of the writer while under the age of consent. WARNING: Please review all tags before reading! If those tags contain any subject you are not comfortable reading, please move on.

An hour later, at dinner with mom, she stared into space while sipping at small spoonfuls of chowder, her mind running over and over what had happened with Declan earlier in the day. From the very first word shared to that last weird feeling once she had made it to the kitchen. 

“Katie, are you OK? You’re super quiet tonight.” her mom asked softy.

“I… uh, yeah! Totally! Sorry. It’s been a weird day.” she carefully thought whether and how to proceed to talk to her mom about Declan. “I talked to the neighbor.”

Her mom’s face showed immediate surprise. With raised eyebrows she asked, “and… how did that go?”

“Really good. He’s cool. His name’s Declan. He doesn’t hate me, or us, he’s just kind of a sad guy.” 

“Sweetie, that’s fantastic!” she laughed, “not that he’s sad, but that you talked to him, got to understand someone a little better. I’m really proud of you.”

She really was proud, visibly so, and Katie could feel her own pride at the notion she broke that barrier, calmed her mind with just a simple chat with a stranger. That feeling she had after speaking to Declan though, maybe it was just her slipping back into her own worries. But that look he gave her, it was that look that sparked that feeling, and she had an idea why. The look was eerily similar to how her dad and mom used to look at each other. She remembered it, vaguely, but there were even old photos of them giving that look to each other. “Oh god”, she thought, that was the look Renee Wheeler gave her in 6th grade, just before she forcibly tried to kiss her. Or even further back, in 5th grade, the twin O’Neill brothers, those dirty little creeps. The weight of this realization continued to grow as the evening went on. She barely practiced the ukulele, only scribbled vague notes for her science homework, and it took her 20 minutes just to fall asleep.

That night she dreamed of all her old friends hanging out in a park playground, slowly disappearing into the dark of night one by one while Katie called out for them to come back. She followed the sound of a creaky swing set into the inky black, finally coming upon a boy her age with sandy blonde hair and freckles crying loudly while limply trying to swing. She asked if he was OK. He said he wasn’t, that everyone left him, that they always leave him. She asked his name, and he whimpered “Declan” to her.

The next morning, Katie, exhausted, shuffled into the kitchen where her mom was active and very much awake.

“How did you sleep sweetie” her mom asked.

All Katie could do was grumble and make a bowl of cereal before slumping at the kitchen table. She thought about the dream, about this new familiarity with the neighbor that allowed a child version of himself into her dream. Dreams are stupid. They don’t mean anything. But this felt like it meant something and she was having a hard time letting it go.

“Mom.”

“Yes Katie.”

“Dad and you, you used to look at each other a lot.”

She laughed and placed her palms flat on the table across from Katie, “I mean... yeah? Do you mean, like... this look?” in which she let her face fall a little into a gentle curve, her mouth opening into a light, expectant smile, her eyes wide, glassy and glowing at the same time.

“Yup. That’s the one.” she replied as she cringed.

Katie adjusted herself in the chair, leaning toward her mom across her bowl of cereal. “What would you say that look meant? For you. Or like, to you?”

Candace sighed, stood up straight, crossed her arms over her chest and looked into the distance before saying, “It’s just, when someone does something, or is someone that just makes you happy, like really really happy. That look is kind of a natural way that expresses itself.”

“Soooo, like… admiration?”

“Yes. Admiration. That’s a pretty good word for it.”

“Do you KNOW you’re doing the look when you’re doing it?”

“No, not really. You can feel it in you, but there’s a moment where you forget everything else, what you’re doing, or even who you are. You’re just… entranced by something, or someone.”

“Cool.” She felt self-conscious suddenly, feeling the expectation in her mom for some reasoning to the question. She responded quickly and maybe a little manipulatively, “I remember when you and dad did that to each other.”

“Ohhh, sweetie” her mom cooed while stepping closer and putting a hand on Katie’s shoulder.

So as not to lose the momentum of the deflection, she continued “And, I remember how that went away. Like, when you both stopped doing it as much. Then, when you both stopped doing it completely.” Her deflection was a success. Candace stepped behind her and clasped her arms around Katie’s neck and shoulders, hugging her firmly. Few words were shared for the remaining time together that morning before they left for school or work, but they both went into their days a little sad and also glad to have each other.


	4. The Crew

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shorty chapter, how Katie uses her new found people meeting skills.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a work of fiction and in no way condones, incites, or excuses non-consensual activity involving minors, nor harm to any person. Some components are based upon the personal experiences of the writer while under the age of consent. WARNING: Please review all tags before reading! If those tags contain any subject you are not comfortable reading, please move on.

At school, during her 5th period personal study class, Katie noticed a student across the room had a ukulele case slung over the back of her chair. This girl, who Katie hadn’t even noticed once before suddenly intrigued her. Jet black hair fell like curtains onto her desk as she leaned over it shrouding the paper she was writing furiously on. The girl’s clothing was utterly fascinating to her. How had she not noticed this person before? Yellow stockings under dungarees, black converse, faded peach-colored blouse billowing out the top of the dungarees. Katie reflected on her own clothing, jeans and a printed t-shirt, blue slip-ons. She chuckled at her own simplicity, but mostly at how much admiration she had for this mysterious black-haired girl who apparently played the ukulele. She decided to try what worked so well on Declan with another person, this time one her own age. It was time to demystify another human being! The second the bell rang, her bag already packed, she sprang up and approached the still seated girl.

“I’m Katie! Hey!” she blurted out, cringing at herself immediately. “Uh, I probably should have started with ‘hey’. Whatever though... I’m Katie.” she said with a wide smile.

The black haired girl, who hadn’t changed positions from writing while the rest of the class hurriedly gathered their things and scurried out the door peered up at Katie from beneath the shroud of hair and said, “Ohhhh kayyyy”.

“How long have you played the ukulele?” she asked, hoping to prompt something more than a reluctant acknowledgement from the black haired girl, possibly even her name.

The girl’s face changed, softened, and she sat back while brushing her hair behind one ear. “Like, 4 months. I’m so not good. I’m trying really hard to learn though. Do you play?”

“I totally play it!“ Katie proffered with open arms extended for the black haired girl to fill in the blank with her name.

“Noriko” she chuckled.

Katie’s mind immediately went to the movie line her mom had quoted many times over, “Did we just become best friends?!” The conversation was brief, but it centered primarily on playing the ukulele and school work. They parted ways once inside the hallway, each moving on to their next class with broad smiles across their faces. After a few steps away from each other, they almost simultaneously yelled, “I’ll see you later!” Katie felt that confident surge again. She did it again, twice in two days. She was on a roll.

* * *

Whiskey, the drink Declan was drinking was whiskey. The smell of it in the glass recycling bin was unmistakably strong, and once Katie stepped closer to the plastic bin, she could clearly see a variety of empty bottles each containing the word Whiskey on their labels. Why alcohol appealed to anyone was beyond her scope of understanding. Even her mom’s multiple glasses of wine followed by falling asleep on the couch at 8pm confused her. Her dad wouldn’t touch a drop of it because he said he was allergic. One of the few things she actually thought was good about her dad. At least he wasn’t a horrible, angry alcoholic when her parents were together. Just, you know, mostly absent.

Another thing about Declan she had begun to notice, he was spending far more time out and about then her first few weeks living there. She would see him leave the house in his old pickup truck typically just as she turned the corner from the duplex going to school. It had been awhile since they conversed out front, and she hadn’t seen him on his porch that entire time. She imagined a few scenarios to explain the new behavior that made her chuckle, but in the end, she still felt bothered by it, wondering out loud, “maybe he does hate me?” What if that conversation was helpful for her but did the opposite for him? What if that look he gave her was something else entirely, like he was thinking something else about her, probably negative? And lastly, “Why do I even care what an adult thinks about me?”

The last thought was sufficiently backed by the powerful presence of Noriko in her life. And not just Noriko, but three additional kids in her grade all learning the ukulele who had been interested in making friends. A solid friend group had been created, all sparked from Katie’s boldness in speaking to another student about something she loved, playing the ukulele.

Skinny, kind, and anxious Mathew who had picked up ukulele when he was only 8 years old, confident and cool Taralynne with a shaved head and a love for punk music already, and lastly Nat who identified solely as Noriko’s future husband which annoyed Noriko to no end, but not enough for her to put a stop to it. They were after all boyfriend and girlfriend, terms that neither of them understood much but held to because they genuinely enjoyed each other and had since 2nd grade.

This group would meet at school whenever possible, often to strum together in the distant corners of the school grounds, and they were all the better for it. For Katie, it gave her a sense of self that wasn’t so dependent on feeling liked by people, but instead on enjoying other people. Noriko was the perfect person for that, since she too placed more weight on who and how she interacted with people than what anyone thought of her. This was incredibly appealing for Katie. Noriko was closer than anyone had ever been to Katie, besides her mom Candace. Noriko truly wanted to be close with Katie, and Katie wanted her to be too. She was the only friend that would come over to the duplex, play ukulele on the porch, do homework, or stay for one of Candace's dinners.


	5. The Oh My God Oh My God Oh My God WTF

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Witness to a neighbor's sexual liaison.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a work of fiction and in no way condones, incites, or excuses non-consensual activity involving minors, nor harm to any person. Some components are based upon the personal experiences of the writer while under the age of consent. WARNING: Please review all tags before reading! If those tags contain any subject you are not comfortable reading, please move on.

The 4th time Noriko came over, this time on a weekend, Katie opened the door for her to come in and Noriko looked off. Her face was blanched white, and she was breathing a little raggedly.

“Nor, what is going on? You really don’t look like you're feeling good.” Katie asked.

Noriko, steadying her breath more, color returning to her face whispered to Katie, “I just saw your neighbor in his window. He was like, totally naked and there was a woman in there with him. Like, what the hell! Close the fricking curtain!” she forced out in a whisper.

“Oh.” Katie was stuck in a moment where no thought came to mind, just a confusion, followed by a hint of disgust. “Gross.”

“Yeah, super gross. I did not need to see that.”

“Were they just like, standing there?”

“No. She was giving him… like, a blow job, or whatever.”

It was clear this event was in neither of their ability to pass off as something normal at all. Sex did not come up at all for Katie or her friends, it was never in their interest to discuss it. Katie understood that though all of the friends were on the cusp of it, puberty had not consumed their interests. Sex ed was at best, a brief overview of what they were going to do when they were ready, the details of which could be discussed at a later date and time. When that would be, Katie didn’t really understand beyond being terrified of eventually bleeding from her vagina every month. Something her mom jokingly called “the red plague”, which did not help.

The thing was, Declan was still a relative source of confusion and mystery to her. This kind of made it worse. It was easier to think of him as just a sad older guy, grieving for his divorce, trying to find a way to do what he wants, but the idea or notion of him having sex complicated it. Adults are obsessed with sex. This she and Noriko agreed on immediately. It was disappointing in a way, because watching TV it was clear not only were adults obsessed with it, but, in a weird way, it was like kids were being taught to be obsessed with it too. She felt that disgust well up in her throat again, but immediately choked it back down. 

“I want to see it.” Katie declared.

“Wait… what?! Why?!” Noriko responded.

“I don’t know, I’m curious. I want to see what it looks like, but, I dunno. Like, the neighbor is weird, and I don’t get him. Maybe it’ll help to understand him.” She laughed at the ridiculousness of her own idea then, and quickly walked out the back door of the apartment with Noriko in tow, stepping lighter and lighter as they passed his apartment’s back door.

There was a row of shrubs and plants that ran alongside the duplex next to Declan’s apartment. Within that row were a number of gaps where a person could both disguise themselves and yet have a relatively unmitigated view through the corner front window into the living room. And this is where Katie and Noriko found themselves within seconds, led there by the sounds of an adult woman experiencing… something. Once crouched inside the gap of the bushes, Katie and Noriko slowly raised their heads until their eyes were even with the bottom sill of the window. They couldn’t see anything yet, but they could still hear the woman. 

Katie whispered, “I don’t get it, we should see them by now!”

“Yeah, he was standing up, and her head was down here before.” Noriko noted pointing to her lower abdomen.

Slowly and cautiously, they both crept closer to the windowsill maintaining their crouch. Arriving at the window, ever so slowly they both raised their heads to see over the sill into the rest of the room below. The first thing Katie saw were the soles of someone’s bare feet, in the air, waving about in circles. She wanted to laugh, but held it back, a small crackle escaping her tightened lips. Noriko continued to raise her head and Katie followed.

It was clear now. Declan, naked and on his knees with his back to the window had his head buried between a completely nude woman’s legs at her crotch. Her feet swung above him, her body curled into the back of his sofa, her left hand clasped at his head and her right hand gripped the cushion below her. Noriko and Katie were transfixed. This was definitely glossed over in sex ed. They had expected to see a woman using her mouth on him, and instead caught the complimentary act of him using his mouth on her. Katie’s mind raced at the implications. This woman was very obviously enjoying the sensation Declan was giving her, and now that they were close enough to hear, Declan’s grunts and moans were also evidence of his enjoyment of giving her this enjoyment. 

Noriko whispered to Katie, “I don’t know what it’s called, but I don’t think it’s a ‘blowjob’.”

Katie, almost breathless, replied, “I don’t care. It looks crazy. It sounds crazy. This is crazy.”

They kept their widened eyes on the couple inside, noting how sweaty and much louder the woman was getting, seeing her clamp her legs tighter and tighter against Declan’s head. His hands slid from behind her knees slowly down to her thighs, and turning his palms inward his fingers slipped to the inside of her thighs gently pulling them apart, away from his head.

“I fucking missed you.” she growled. “Missed you so much Declan. Oh my fucking god.” the woman cried out to the ceiling.

Katie cringed in embarrassment at this, but kept watching intently. The woman was breathing harder and louder now, and she could hear Declan slurping and sucking loudly. Suddenly, the woman’s body arched outward, away from the sofa, her arms snapping against the cushions of the sofa and she moaned so loudly it scared both girls at first. Declan fell backwards onto his floor, sweaty, naked, and watched this woman writhe for what felt like an eternity. Still transfixed, Noriko and Katie stared intently, breathing shallowly. The woman settled into the sofa then sat up slowly and pulled Declan’s face to hers. His hands went to the top of her thighs now bent at an angle towards the floor and gripped tightly. The kiss which was incredibly wet, their mouths wide open, the sounds of sucking and slurping between the two of them made Katie gasp. It was somewhat exciting to watch them kiss like that, while also being somewhat disgusting. 

Katie, slowly turned to Noriko, “Nor, did... did she just… lick it off his face? Her… stuff, off his face?”

Noriko slowly turned to Katie and muttered, “Uh, yeah. Wow.”

From the corner of her eye, while looking at Noriko, Katie saw Declan’s body stand up and slowly turn around to face the window they were looking through. The panic was immediate.

“Oh shit!” Katie said out loud while tugging Noriko down below the windowsill. She smothered Noriko’s head with her arms and tucked as low as they could go.

“What was that?” the woman inside said.

“I didn’t hear it. What did it sound like” Declan replied to her.

Katie and Noriko were already scurrying along the row of hedges and plants to the back of the house before they could hear anymore of the conversation inside. Once they made it to the back corner of the apartment, they sprang up and sprinted to Katie’s kitchen door, being careful not to shut it with any noise.


	6. The Epiphany

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How these friends decompress from what they've seen (and understood). Things get... real.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a work of fiction and in no way condones, incites, or excuses non-consensual activity involving minors, nor harm to any person. Some components are based upon the personal experiences of the writer while under the age of consent. WARNING: Please review all tags before reading! If those tags contain any subject you are not comfortable reading, please move on.

Lying on the floor of her bedroom, Noriko and Katie were gasping for air between huge bouts of laughter. 

“That was so crazy!” exclaimed Katie.

Noriko, trying to catch her breath sputtered, “I… I.. I can’t believe what we… what we just saw Katie!”

For Katie, the experience was less disturbing than the initial shock had made it seem. Seeing Declan on his knees like that, making this woman scream, making her feel… good, it brought up an interesting and new consideration of sex for her. It obviously feels good. And to see this woman’s reaction, it can feel really good. There was still a feeling though, that sex, or whatever one would call what they were doing, had a certain grossness to it. But what really was it that was gross? A vagina was part of a human body. Was it worse than someone’s mouth? Was kissing gross? Her head started swimming with questions about what she even understood about sex other than the cold hard act of penetrative sex they had learned about in sex ed.

Katie, calming herself, sat up and turned to Noriko who was still chuckling and struggling to breath normally on the floor.

“Nor?” she asked with a serious look.

Noriko, sitting up and taking one big gasping breath, looked at Katie. “Yeah?”

“I don’t think I’ve really thought about this until now, but, I... “ she paused, worried about the response Noriko might give her. “I just think it might be cool to know what sex is like.”

Noriko’s mouth straightened tightly, her eyes narrowed in consideration and realized sex suddenly wasn’t as weird or gross for her as it had been, she squinted at Katie and smiled.

“I feel like, I dunno, like it’s not that bad, I guess. That woman wasn’t grossed out by it. Neither was he.”

“Yeah,” Katie muttered softly. “He definitely wasn’t grossed out by it, or by her.”

They both sat upright upon their knees on Katie’s bedroom floor, their eyes blankly staring into space while they each considered this feeling of comfort, or at least non-disgust about sex. Katie began to wonder to herself in that moment, what it might feel like to have something touching her there, or at the most extreme, what a wet mouth might feel like on her. The truth was, she had touched herself there several times in the last year, but never for too long. It never felt like what she saw that day, but she was beginning to wonder if someone else doing something to her there might change that. These thoughts were starting to make her feel a little light headed, she felt a buzzing sensation in her throat like she had swallowed a bunch of flies. Her stomach even seemed to be closing in on itself while simultaneously thrusting itself into her chest. She was imagining a mouth on her down there, and was finding it difficult to think about anything else.

Suddenly self-conscious, Katie focused on Noriko. Noriko had been staring intently while her mind wandered. 

“What?” she asked Noriko.

“I want to do that. I want to… do what he did to her.” she replied matter of factly, without hesitation.

“Really?” she asked incredulously.

“Yeah.”

“Like, do what Declan did, or… have what he did, done to you?”

“Both? But, maybe do it more?” Noriko paused, and breathed slowly, a nervous wrinkle forming on her brow.

“Katie, I don’t want to be gross, or like, weird. I don’t want you to be… weird with me. I just, kind of already have thought about stuff like that, with boys, and… girls too.” Noriko shrugged. “And now, like... seeing it? I’m way more sure it’s something I want to do.”

Katie with an enormous smile crossing her face replied, “I was totally just thinking how much I want to feel what she was feeling.”

Realizing this might feel like an awkward invitation, her eyes went wide and her mouth pressed closed, tightly out of worry. How would Nor react to that? What happens next, now that they had shared these thoughts with each other?

“Would it be weird if I did that to you though?” Noriko asked softly.

Perplexed, Katie’s mind instantly created the visuals of having quite possibly her best friend ever use her mouth… down there. It was an awkward thought for a few moments, but it began to feel incredibly exciting to her. Her heart pounded a little harder in her chest with anticipation.

“No?” she chuckled, “is that weird? I just thought about it, what it would look like, be like, and… it honestly doesn’t seem weird at all. Nor… you’re my best friend. I… I would do that for you too.”

All this honesty and consideration was nearly overwhelming for them both. They started intently at each other in silence for a short moment, nervous smiles on both their faces, a thin veil of tears forming in their eyes. They both understood that this friendship they had created was closer than anything they had ever experienced before. They could trust each other, more than they had ever trusted anyone in their lives.

“Can I kiss you Nor?” Katie asked softly.

Noriko smiled, shifted closer to Katie on her knees, and leaned her face in until their lips met in perfect delicate symmetry. The warmth of their combined mouths set both their minds and bodies to immediate ease. For Katie, it felt like slipping into a warm bath, her body easing and her skin tingling. Katie reached out and slid a thumb into the palm of Noriko’s hand, wrapping her thin, soft fingers around the Noriko’s. Noriko gently squeezed Katie’s hand into hers, holding their lips softly against one another breathing softly through their noses.

After several seconds, Noriko moved her head away from Katie’s leaving a thin shimmer of spittle on both of their mouths. They both giggled, and then quickly embraced each other in a deep, caring hug.

“Thank you Nor.” Katie whispered into Noriko’s ear.

Noriko, releasing their embrace, and pointing to the soft fluffy rug below Katie’s dresser asked, “Maybe you could lie down over there?”

Katie immediately complied, stretching her body across the rug on her side at first, then rolling onto her back. With her thumbs beneath her waistband, Katie looked up to Noriko who was now kneeling at her feet. “Should I… just take these off?”

“Yeah. You can take your shirt off too, if you want.”

Without missing a beat, Katie flipped her thumbs under her shirt and rolled it off her thin frame, over her head and onto the floor behind her. Noriko watched wide-eyed as she did this, her lips parted slightly, mesmerized by how confident Katie seemed.

Katie noticing this while rolling her underwear and pants down past her hips smiled up at Noriko, and said, “I like the way you look at me Nor.” and chuckled as she thrust her hips off the floor and snaked the rolled up underwear and pants over the small curve of her butt, down the length of her long legs to her ankles.

Noriko chuckled, and blushed slightly.

Pulling her legs up to her chest, she twisted the wadded up clothing from her ankle and tossed it aside. Her knees together and bent upward, she slowly slid her heels back towards Noriko, watching her face, watching how intently Noriko was staring at her tummy and her mound below. Noriko, nervous with excitement, began to lean over Katie’s mound, trembling as her arms stiffened to the sides.

“Wait.” Katie asked.

“Would it be OK if you didn’t wear anything either? It would be easier for me. If that’s OK?”

Noriko lurched back and without pause yanked the shirt off her torso and threw it on top of Katie’s bed. She laughed, and stood up with the same speed, slid her thumbs into her waistline and rolled her underwear and shorts down to her ankles, stepping gingerly from them foot by foot.

Noriko’s body was long looking from her view on the floor, but Katie noticed the differences between their bodies quickly. Noriko had thicker limbs than Katie, wider hips that smoothed into her thighs that gave her the look of a violin. She also had small, mounded breasts peaked by dark small nipples, where Katie had nothing but the wall of her chest and two flat, pale red nipples. Most noticeable however was Noriko’s mound, dusted by short, fine, dark hairs that swept downard to her thin, short slit. Katie looked down at her mound in comparison. It was prominent, rising well above her hip bones, but completely bare save for a light brush of faint blonde hairs closer to her stomach, barely visible at the right angle and light. Her body was far thinner and longer looking than her friend’s.

“Your body, it looks more like, I don’t know, an adult’s kind of?”

Noriko smiled down at Katie, scanned over the length of her naked body, taking in the differences as well. “I like that we look different. I think your body is really pretty.”

“Thanks Nor.”

“Can I now?”

“Yes, please.” Katie replied and she breathed in deeply and parted her bent legs to allow Noriko room to kneel between them.

Noriko, hesitating between Katie’s legs, looked across Katie’s stomach to her eyes and back down again at the narrow slit of flesh directly below her mouth. She found herself fascinated by the shape of it, how each side of her mound gently arched from the crease at the thigh and met in the middle, the skin folding inward into a darker crevice with just a barely visible glisten of moisture inside.

“Maybe, you… could just start with a kiss?” Katie meekly whispered, clearing her throat of the anxiety.

Eyes fixed on Katie’s, Noriko whispered back with a slight smile, “Oh, okay... Yeah.” 

The smooth mound of milky skin around Katie’s slit was inviting, they looked so full, tender, and soft. She lowered her head until her warm, full lips were resting gently only millimeters from the top of Katie’s slit. Delicately, Noriko pressed further until she felt her lips flatten a little and part across the skin, the warmth of Katie’s body feeding back into Noriko’s mouth immediately. A small slick of her saliva squeezed between her lips and the skin. Then, just as delicately, she lifted her lips, lowered her head and kissed the same way to the right of Katie’s slit, gently and slowly pressing down, warm saliva filling the space between. The pressure of her mouth beside Katie’s slit had slightly parted her labia. Noriko, with her mouth pressed over the small patch of skin wet with saliva watched this intently. Thin, clear, sticky strands of moisture clung between both sides of her slit, creating little crystalline bridges over the dark pink flesh. The smell was instantly sweet. Like a gust of wind blowing through a hedge of jasmine flowers.

Both of them were breathing slowly, but deeply. With each breath, inhaling the sweet smells in the room, and exhaling out all the nervousness through soft moans.

After Noriko had laid a third gentle kiss to the left side of Katie’s slit, insead of lifting away again, she slid her lips across the skin to the top of it. As her bottom lip traced across, she could feel the subtle squishy flesh of her labia, and suddenly the round slippery bump of her clit the size of a small pea rested just against the saliva-slicked inside of Noriko’s lip. Katie tensed immediately, her thighs tightening, her hips uncontrollably sliding backwards away from Noriko’s mouth. “Oh, oh wow!”

The words came from low in the throat, and worked themselves out her barely parted lips. She closed her eyes, releasing the muscle tension in her legs, propped herself up on one elbow and looked down her torso to Noriko.

“That felt so crazy!” Katie breathlessly apologized to her friend.

“I think… was that, your clit?” she whispered.

“Yeah, I guess… it’s never felt like that. Even when I use -” she raised her other hand from her side and held her index and middle fingers together. “You know?”

Noriko nodded, smiling at Katie. “Should I do it again?”

“Um, sure. Yes! I mean,” she chuckled, “thank you. It’s… it feels really good.”

“Ok cool.” Noriko turned her eyes back down to Katie’s mound as Katie lowered her torso to the rug again, tucking her hands behind her head.

“Should I try to make you… like, orgasm?”

“Sh… sure.” was all Katie could breathe out, her eyes closed, her body relaxed.

Noriko slid her legs out from underneath her, resting on her stomach, and propped herself up on her elbows at the end of the thick, soft rug. This put her face more directly in front of rather than above Katie, with a much clearer view of the lower, deeper looking length of her slit. Katie slid her feet back towards her butt, her knees pointing higher this time.

“Could you move your knees out a little?” Noriko asked, and Katie abided.

With this movement, the smooth skin inside her thighs stretched tightly from the knee all the way down to each side of her mound, widening her slit until it was now a gently parted gap. Now Noriko could see inside her more. There were bright pink folds over her inner labia, glistening with sticky wetness on either side, and a small, tight hole surrounded by another set of smaller, wet, pink folds. The hole didn’t look very deep, but it looked incredibly soft. In fact, the entirety of it looked slick and soft. 

“It’s… so pretty.” Noriko found herself muttering.

Above the hole, where her slit came to an end at the top of her mound she could clearly see Katie’s small but swollen clitoris jutting from its own pink folds. It glistened with a thin, milky moisture.

“I’m gonna touch you, inside a little, with my finger. Is that OK?”

“OK” replied Katie, her eyes closed and mouth upturned in a grin.

On her elbows, Noriko inched a little closer so that her hands were closer to Katie’s mound. She wanted to touch the slick flesh around the hole to see if it was as soft and supple as it looked. With her right thumb she pressed lightly against the labia on the right, and gently rubbed the pad of her thumb around the inside wall closer to the hole. The warmth, the softness, it made Noriko’s heart jump. It was even softer, even warmer, even more amazing to touch than she could have imagined. 

Katie trembled as Noriko’s thumb smoothed rings around her inner labia, coating itself with the gooey clear moisture inside.

She pressed her thumb slowly deeper between the parted labia, until the walls were pressing against it from all sides. 

Katie jumped and quickly wrapped her hand around Noriko’s wrist, halting any further movement inside her open vagina.

‘Wait! Wait... “

Worried, Noriko broke from her transfixed stare at Katie’s vagina and looked up to her face. “Are you OK? Did I hurt you?”

“No… no. I’m sorry. I kind of don’t want… anything inside me. I’ve tried before, with my finger. It hurts. Well, it… not painful, but like, uncomfortable. You know?”

“Oh. OK. I’m so sorry.” Noriko stared apologetically into her eyes, unsure of what to do next.

Katie’s face suddenly wore what Noriko could only detect as shame.

“Katie! Please don’t feel bad. It’s OK! It’s totally OK!”

It was like watching a balloon deflate. Katie could only think about how exciting and wonderful it felt right up until that moment of understanding what Noriko was going to do next, and then, she couldn’t help it. It was the first moment of true discomfort she had felt with Noriko since they first met. And now, she was worried that Noriko would walk away. Sure it didn’t make any real sense to feel this way, but she couldn’t stop from feeling it was going to happen. 

Noriko got to her knees, placed her hands on the floor on either side of Katie's torso, and lowered her mouth onto hers, squeezing their wet lips together.

Katie’s body almost inflated with life again, and her hands came from beneath her head and grasped at Noriko’s bare waist. 

The kiss was warm and firm at first, but their lips parted slightly and they could taste one another’s breath, Katie’s a little sour, and Noriko’s a little sweet. The tastes combined in their mouths creating a flavor that made them both crave more. A tongue gently slid between both parted pairs of lips, the other’s tongue complimented the motion until they found themselves slowly swirling in the saliva in each other’s warm, wet mouths.

Katie’s mind was loud with sensation, a dizzying kind of feeling that filled her chest with heat and seemed to twitch and tickle from her stomach down to her full, warm vulva. Sweat beads formed under Noriko’s arms, on her forehead, as she was also lost in this strange feeling of burning heat from inside her chest.

They kissed like this for minutes, their bodies still but their heads tilting left to right, enabling the movement and access of the other’s tongue. Finally, Noriko breathing heavily drew her mouth from Katie’s, a single strand of saliva elongating between them then gently laying down in a line on Katie’s bare chest as Noriko sat upright and tried to catch her breath. With heavy breath pushing from her still open mouth, Katie released the grip on Noriko’s waist and rested her sweaty palms on the tops of her thighs.

“See? All better. No need to freak out.” Noriko assured her through still heavy breathing.

Katie felt this enormous spark of joy suddenly, and grabbed Noriko by the shoulders pulling her down beside her on the fuzzy thick rug until they rested on their sides, face to face.

“Thanks Nor.” she whispered, both of them staring softly at the other with moist, happy, bright eyes, smiling contentedly.

That night, Noriko stayed over for dinner, played backgammon with Katie in front of the TV and when they went to sleep that night they wore pajamas, but wrapped themselves tightly around each other in Katie’s bed until morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is all I've got for now. With a little time, I'll be able to put some more down.


End file.
